We got our first snow today.

This is what the front yard looked like at 11 o'clock tonight when I took the three Rottweilers out for their last pee before bedtime. The look on Ruff's face tells me he remembered seeing this stuff before. Looks like one of our neighbors shoveled the sidewalk for us without saying anything.

Hey, look at this.

Yep. it even tastes the same.

Sassy just walked out took a squat and then sat down.

Axl just takes everything in stride. Nothing bothers him.

The weatherman was reporting up to 4-5 inches in our area but it looked like no more than 3 inches to me. I'll have to wait until tomorrow and see what we got in the back. I'm sure the boys will enjoy going for a long walk.

Another day another photo.

There are several photo captions that would apply to this picture. Given a choice the two boys - Ruff and Axl - would like nothing better than to take naps while babysitting their Mom. Which is just what they did after dinner last night.

 

Not quite an off topic story.

One of my online news sites ran a story this morning that I immediately found very funny even though it wasn't intended to be. Here is the headline and opening paragraph.

I’M SO PRETTY: Taking Too Many Photos of Your Kids is a BAD Thing, Warn Experts

Parents taking too many pictures of their kids are being warned that it can be detrimental to their development as it might make them feel ‘overly important’.

The reason the story wasn't meant to be funny was because they were talking about our real kids, a.k.a. the human kind, otherwise called children. But we all refer to our Rottweilers (and Notweilers, too) as our kids but I think the point of the story may apply there as well. I know that in my baby Rottweiler Ruffin's seven year life he has had the bulk share of some 10,000 photographs taken and it has gotten to the point that when he sees me with the camera he almost begins to pose for another picture. So does this begin to explain the origins of the "spoiled rotten" attitude? Who cares. Here is another picture taken this morning after we came home from church.

These poor critters are so attached to us that they are unable to cope with our schedule changes. On Sunday's we get up almost 4 hours early to make the 7 o'clock Mass and they all cry their heads off when we pull out of the driveway. They do the same in the daytime when we go shopping and have to leave them home alone, but at 6:30 in the morning when its still dark outside it sounds terrible.

Watching TV with my two boys Axl and Ruff.

While the two girls in the house (my wife and Sassy) were both dozing in the family room last night, the male part of the family (me and Ruff and Axl) were in the living room watching TV. Axl spent most of the time snoozing but Ruff was wide awake.

I just adore this old Rottweiler's face full of gray hairs. He is just as beautiful sleeping (and snoring) as he is when he is awake and he is the biggest sweetheart. But when the couch got too warm for him Axl got down and went back to sleep on the cool floor. But a comfy couch does not remain unused for long in our house and soon my other best friend Ruff took possession of it.

Ruff, on the other hand, was not only wide awake but was interested in posing for some pictures while still showing an interest for what was on TV - especially the parts that had barking dogs.

But I got the distinct impression that Ruff was getting tired of the interruptions and wanted to go back to watching the TV. You can see it in his eyes. He didn't want to miss anything.

And that's the way we spent the evening.

Happy Thanksgiving.

'Twas the night before Thanksgiving and all through the house,

And then came the big Turkey Day.

FYI, the one that took the pictures is the one that cooked the turkey and is the one who is usually awake in the house.

 

Here's Sassy, protecting us from the evil ball.

Our little Sassy girl is somewhat of a loner, especially inside the house. For that reason I don't always get an opportunity to take pictures of her. This makes it seem like the two boys are getting all the attention. Well, today, the boys were outside and Sassy was indoors by herself. I had moved her sheepskin rug from the living room while I vacuumed there and Sassy decided to lay on it by the fireplace. But Sassy had another reason for doing this. The evil, screeching basketball was loose in the house and Sassy's job is to punish it and let no one near it. She has been doing this ever since we acquired this ball several years ago. Whenever the ball is squeezed it lets out a horrible screeching sound when the air goes back in. I don't blame Sassy one bit for biting it whenever is screeches except she hasn't learned that that is what makes it screech. I hope I explained that clearly.

This is the look on her face when the ball begins to screech.

 

Windy.

Windy, but not as much as yesterday that brought us some severe storms. So we had some time to explore the backyard and see if all our trees were still in Kentucky. Here is Ruff and Axl out by the Willow I planted 4 years ago. It has already gotten three times its size.

 This sure looks like a dirty look. Perhap Axl didn't want to come back inside.

 Ruff with his ever present red rubber ball.

All over for today.

 

Happy Birthday baby Ruffin, you are 7 years old today.

As the saying goes, time flies when you're having fun. And today we have another birthday in our humble rotten house. Ruffin, my baby Rottweiler, whom I picked out of the litter and raised him with the help of his adopted mother Mocha, is now 7 years old. I took a few pictures of Ruff this afternoon even though he will have a birthday party at dinner time. And I thought a little recap of his growth pictures would be nice to see.

"Someday I will be a Big Dog, too."

The Rottie Mom holding a meeting.

 

August 2012

Escape from Hibernation.

The dam has broken, the moon, the planets and the Sun aligned, NO, really, just the weatherman gave us a beautiful day and made us an offer we couldn't refuse. We escaped from the clutches of hibernation. We left the cozy warmth of our home and went for a walk with the boys. Geez, the way they acted you would think they've been cooped up in the house for a week. Actually, they have - the humans were getting adjusted to the cold. Anyway, here are the pictures. The first thing Axl did was trot over to the far side of the property and he didn't come back to have his picture taken until he had checked out all the trees. As soon as Ruff posed with his mom he picked up a stick a ran off with it.

And the weatherman says we have a chance for our first snow next week. That should be exciting. It always makes our Rottweilers act a little more crazy when the go outside.

 

An early chill has left us under the weather.

 

I just unloaded some photos from my Nikon that were taken over a week ago. This is something I almost never do as most pictures are put into the computer the day I take them. The reason was the fault of the weather. We suddenly had a span of chilly weather that contrasted with the 60+ degrees we were having. I went out and spent an hours on the tractor cutting the grass and was chilled to the bone when I came inside. One thing quickly led to another and I just finished taking the last pills the doctor prescribed. But now my wife has come down with a cold.

So this is what it looks like when we begin to hibernate. Humans and Rottweilers sleeping all day long. And the weatherman predicts a cold and snowy Winter. I think we will be acclimated to it in a few months.

They are very good company and don't complain too much except when I'm late with their dinner.

The untold story of the photoshopped kiss.

Many years ago when I had just started this blog I was invited to post my pictures of my Rottweilers on a Canadian bulletin board dedicated to Rottweilers. Many of the people who frequented this board fell in love with our baby Rottweiler, Ruffin, who was only 2 years old at the time. Even as young as he was, Ruff had already gotten used to the camera and almost struck a pose whenever I came in the room with the camera in my hand. He had a distinctive way of staring straight into the camera that caught everyone's attention. When I posted this picture two days ago one of his fans made a comment on about it. She said it was absolutely stunning. I get that a lot.

 

December 25-2008

This reminded me of the story I am telling now. One of the women on the Canadian bulletin board was particularly envious of a photo I posted of Ruff giving his Mom a kiss. This is the photo.

For several days she wrote me saying how much she wished she could have Ruff give her a kiss like that. One day it dawned on me to offer her a solution. I asked her to send me a head shot photo of herself and I would try to work it into this picture. I sent her this picture as an example.

Out of respect for the lady's privacy I cannot show you the actual results, so I obscured her face in the image below, but it did come out very well.

 

I have been using similar techniques to clear up some of the clutter in the photos I post here. It's basically just a cut and paste. If you are interested, the clutter are called photobombs. Look it up on Google images search.

 

Today we took an afternoon walk.

Well, Ruff and Axl are happy, now. Or maybe we're just adjusting to the cold weather. Finally got to take the boys out back for a run. 

And got the Mom all bundled up to keep her warm.

Yeah, me too. I had on my winter coat, as well.

Wish they would declare Daylight Savings Time.

If you live in the United States you know that by this time of year the Sun begins to set fairly early each day and gets earlier as we go. Today, for instance, it is setting at 6:49 PM. The humans here usually eat dinner around 6:30 PM and have been taking the Rottweilers out back for their walk after dinner. But with the early sunset it is getting too dark to go for the walk and this change does not go well in the dog world. So we have been patiently waiting for Daylight Saving Time to kick in and the clocks get set back an hour so there is still daylight after dinner. By the way, we happen to live on the Western edge of the Eastern Time Zone. In the Summertime we still have daylight here at 9PM at night but we pay for it in the Fall and Winter.

That isn't our only problem. The weather is changing. Some people out here in Northern Kentucky are still walking around in t-shirts and shorts while we are putting on heavy jackets and sweaters. One day it is warm and sunny the next day it is uncomfortably cold, then warm, then cold. Until there are no more warm days until next Spring. This is not good for us old folks. It makes us go into hibernation. And it causes long gaps in my blog entries until we get used to the changes.

Thanks to an email comment from an Anonymous reader today, who inquired if everything was OK because it has been too quiet, I have been nudged out of my rut. Yes, we are OK, in spite of the above complaints.

Baby Ruff, who will be 7-years old next month, has been my biggest complainer. He misses his daily walks more than any of them. He loves to run around in the wide open spaces of his back yard.

Ruff has grown quite big over the years but he still has that sweet, adorable face that people love when we go to Petsmart.

February 7, 2008

Yesterday.

OK, time to get back to work.

A followup to Sunday's post: "Well, this is something different." Maybe Ruffin knew something was wrong.

Apparently, Ruffin had a reason for checking on his best buddy Axl. Axl was getting sick. Yesterday (the day after Ruffin went to extremes licking Axl's face, head and ears) Axl woke up with a very upset stomach and didn't eat any breakfast or dinner. (they are fed two small meals a day) He then spent the day having a bad case of heaves and diarrhea that lasted even after we all went to bed. I had to take him outside at 1:30 AM after he vomited twice more in the house. After I brought him back in he slept outside his Mom's bedroom door all night long and then this morning he went in her room and took a nap by her bed while she was still sleeping. This morning Axl seemed to feel a little better. I don't know if it is a fact but this morning his nose was cold and yesterday his nose was warm. I boiled up a chicken breast and a cup of rice and Axl ate the whole thing so at least he has his appetite back and he hasn't thrown up so far today. 

Its now just past Midnight and everyone is in bed sleeping and I am happy to write that everything went well today. Axl ate another meal at dinner time - I boiled up another chicken breast and mixed it with some rice and he had a hardy appetite. No more throw up or diarrhea so it looks like it was just a 24-hour virus, like we humans sometimes get.

I think the next time Ruff acts a little out of character I will pay better attention. He really was showing concern over his buddy on Sunday because he knew something was wrong.